Fall Into Reading 2012: Wrap-Up

Fall Into Reading 2012Hard to believe it’s December 21 already and time to write my Fall Into Reading 2012 Challenge Wrap-up!

Back on September 21, I set a challenge to read 8 books which would finish out my 2012 Reading Challenge on GoodReads as well.  In October I didn’t think I had much luck meeting the goal because of NaNo.  But I not only met the goal, I exceeded it by reading 14 books.

The Books

Cinder
Man, Oh Man!  Writing M/M Fiction for Kinks & Cash
Rock Your Plot: A Simple System for Plotting Your Novel
All Bets Are Off
Bound By Honor
Fatal Shadows
Bound by Law
A Dangerous Thing
Mugging the Muse: Writing Fiction for Love and Money
The Hell You Say
Death of a Pirate King
The Dark Tide
Ice Hockey Made Simple: A Spectator's Guide
Ethan, Who Loved Carter

The Wrap-Up

Looking over the 8 books I thought I’d read over the three months, the only one in common with this list is Cinder.

Four of the books I read over Thanksgiving weekend. FOUR. And once I started Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English series, I couldn’t stop until I finished all five.  Ethan, Who Loved Carter I read in a single night. Once I started I couldn’t seem to stop.

Of these 14 books, my favorite was The Dark Tide, largely because it was the last one in a 5-book series and I was very happy with how it ended. 😉  It’s a mystery series, and I’ve never really read mystery before. I know why now…I’m not all that fond of it as a genre.  The characters in the books, however, had me captivated from book 1, page 1. I am looking forward to reading more of Josh Lanyon’s books,  perhaps even the mysteries because I love the way he writes characters.

In January I’ll do a full wrap up of all 56 (and counting??) books I read in 2012.

Friday Finds: 3 Romances: 1 Contemporary YA, 1 Paranormal/Gothic YA, 1 LGBT; 2 Writing Craft (11/16/2012)

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

Some weeks I add several books to my list. I’ll be limiting my Friday Finds posts to 5 books each week. Those that don’t make this week’s list will be on next week’s. So many books, so little time!

Shrapnel by Stephanie Lawton

Goodreads

Summary:

It’s been six years since Dylanie and her family visited a Civil War site and the place came alive with cannon fire. Problem was, no one could hear it but her.

Now she’s sixteen, her dad’s moved out, her mom’s come out of the closet and Dylan’s got a spot on Paranormal Teen, a reality TV show filming at historic Oakleigh Mansion. She’ll spend a weekend with two other psychic teens—Jake and Ashley—learning how to control her abilities.

None of them realized how much their emotional baggage would put them at the mercy of Oakleigh’s resident spirits, or that they’d find themselves pawns in the 150-year-old battle for the South’s legendary Confederate gold. Each must conquer their personal ghosts to face down Jackson, a seductive spirit who will do anything to protect the gold’s current location and avenge a heinous attack that destroyed his family.

Dangerous Ground by Josh Lanyon

Amazon.com | Goodreads

Summary:

Special Agents for the Department of Diplomatic Security, Taylor MacAllister and Will Brandt have been partners and best friends for three years, but everything changed the night Taylor admitted the truth about his feelings for Will. And when Taylor was shot a few hours later, Will felt his reluctance to get involved was vindicated. For Will, the team and the friendship have to come first–despite the fact that he hasn’t failed to notice just how…hot Taylor is.

Taylor has been in love with his partner and best friend since they were first partnered. There isn’t much he wouldn’t do for Will–but he doesn’t know how much longer they can stay teamed feeling the way he does. Still, he agreed to a camping trip in the High Sierras–despite the fact that he hates camping–because Will wanted a chance to save their partnership.

But the trip is a disaster from the first, and things rapidly go from bad to worse when they find a crashed plane and a couple of million dollars in stolen money. With a trio of murderous robbers trailing them, Will and Taylor are on dangerous ground, fighting for their partnership, their passion…and their lives.

Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias

Amazon | Goodreads

Summary:

Karl Iglesias breaks new ground by focusing on the psychology of the reader. Based on his acclaimed classes at UCLA Extension, Writing for Emotional Impact goes beyond the basics and argues that Hollywood is in the emotion-delivery business, selling emotional experiences packaged in movies and TV shows. Iglesias not only encourages you to deliver emtional impact on as many pages as possible, he shows you how, offering hundreds of dramatic techniques to take your writing to the professional level.

Mugging the Muse by Holly Lisle

Amazon | Goodreads

Summary:

Want to Get PAID for Writing What You LOVE?

In this collection of thirty-one essays, workshops, quizzes, Q&As, and how-to-do-it articles, novelist Holly Lisle — who went pro with her award-winning first novel, Fire in the Mist, in 1992 and who’s been writing full-time ever since (more than thirty novels published by major publishers, and still writing) offers help, comfort, and wry practical advice to the beginning fiction writer looking for answers.

In the second edition of this book, Holly walks writers through Preparation, Practice, Writing & Selling, and Frequently Asked Questions, offering end-of-chapter exercises, workshops, and free downloadable worksheets designed to get the individual writer or members of writers’ groups working productively with publication as the goal.

In this newly updated writing course, you will discover:

Why you want to write…
What you want to write…
Who you want to write for…
How to write only what you love and what matters to YOU…
How to make your work good…
And how to get paid for doing it.

Writing is a learnable skill, not a magical process only those touched by the Book Fairy, or the Muse, can ever reach.

If you want to write fiction, you can.

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy by Anne Eliot

Amazon | Goodreads

Summary:

After a car accident–an event he considers a prank gone bad–pop star, Hunter Kennedy is forced to hide out with his aunt in small-town Colorado. He’s supposed to rest, heal his scars and attend high school in disguise until the press dies down. But he only wants to get back to work.

Worse, the girl who’s been assigned to make him over into a geek is a major geek herself. Vere Roth is a chattering pixie, a blushing tornado and a complete social disaster. He’s never met a girl who’s never-been-kissed, believes in romance and thinks Hunter’s a ‘nice’ guy.

Funny thing is…Hunter is nice around Vere because she’s his first real friend. He also can’t seem to stop sharing his secrets or keep her out of his heart. Knowing he’d never deserve a girl as sweet as Vere, he resigns himself to the friend zone, and helps his new bestie with her own makeover.

She tortures him daily for ridiculous guy advice on how to snag her life-long crush. A guy Hunter thinks is totally wrong for Vere, and sadly, one who has taken note of Vere’s transformation.

When Vere asks her best friend for some kissing advice, Hunter can’t resist…

And that’s when things get out of control…

Teaser Tuesday: Plot vs. Character (October 23, 2012)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Plot vs. Character by Jeff Gerke

Plot Versus Character

I’ve actually already read this book, but I’m reading it again in preparation for NaNoWriMo.  I’m hoping it will help me with my plotting woes. I’ve got my characters, but what will they do? Who is the antagonist that will push the protagonist towards the change she needs?

The Holy Grail of fiction is to write the novel with the perfect balance of character and plot, of memorable people and a stirring story. The reader cares for these people and is desperately engaged in what they’ve been caught up in.

~ pg 17, Plot Versus Character by Jeff Gerke

 Summary from Goodreads

What’s more important to a story: a gripping plot or compelling characters? Literary-minded novelists argue in favor of character-based novels while commercial novelists argue in favor of plot-based stories, but the truth of the matter is this: The best fiction is rich in both.

Enter “Plot Versus Character.” This hands-on guide to creating a well-rounded novel embraces both of these crucial story components. You’ll learn to:

  • Create layered characters by considering personality traits, natural attributes, and backgrounds
  • Develop your character’s emotional journey and tie it to your plot’s inciting incident
  • Construct a three-act story structure that can complement and sustain your character arc
  • Expose character backstory in a manner that accentuates plot points
  • Seamlessly intertwine plot and character to create a compelling page-turner filled with characters to whom readers can’t help but relate
  • And much more

Filled with helpful examples and friendly instruction, “Plot Versus Character” takes the guesswork out of creating great fiction by giving you the tools you need to inject life into your characters and momentum into your plots.

Teaser Tuesday: The Plot Whisperer Workbook (October 16, 2012)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
The Plot Whisperer Workbook

Challenge yourself to shape your character to reflect unique feelings, ones perhaps that show life differently than those traditionally depicted in stories. Only she feels about her life the way she does.

~ pg 27, Plot Whisperer Workbook

I haven’t picked up a new fiction book since finishing Cinder and now I’m in frantic planning mode for NaNo, so I don’t think I’ll be starting one anytime soon.  Then comes NaNo itself, so I’m wondering if I’ll make my Fall Into Reading goal to read seven more books by December 21.

In preparing for NaNo, I’ve starting working through the Plot Whisperer Workbook. I’ve read The Plot Whisperer, and quite honestly was more confused than anything.  I watched the videos and that helped, but I’m hoping that working through the workbook along side The Plot Whisperer book will help me get at least the framework of a plot together for NaNo.  We’ll see.

 

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